


Under the Weather

by iSaphura



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Jigen cooks some stuff, Sickfic, but I'll tag them anyway, light on the relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26381482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iSaphura/pseuds/iSaphura
Summary: He hated being sick. Lupin the Third didn’t get sick. Ever.Except, this time he is sick, and Jigen and Goemon have their handful trying to nurse him back to health.
Relationships: Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke, Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III
Comments: 7
Kudos: 64
Collections: Lupin III Big Bang 2020





	Under the Weather

**Author's Note:**

  * For [A_bean_in_space](https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_bean_in_space/gifts).



> Heyo my first ao3 collection/challenge! I was partnered with the wonderful Bean (hi Bean!) who requested some hurt/comfort and/or sickfic. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Please note I'm not a medical professional, if you have a fever go talk to your doctor or nearest medical professional. Wear a mask and wash your hands and all that stuff.

Lupin jerked the steering wheel to the left. The Fiat’s tires skidded along and squealed in protest to the maneuver, but the little car did as it was told and turned sharply into a narrow alley. He glanced into the rearview mirror just in time to watch one police car not make the same turn, and a second slam into it.

Jigen was standing out of the cloth-top and laughed as he tucked his gun back into its holster. “Dumb asses.”

“Now Jigen, it’s not nice to make fun of the local law enforcement,” Lupin chided playfully. “They are trying their very best and are failing miserably. No need to rub it in.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Jigen sighed as he sat down.

Lupin caught a glimpse of a glittering eye beneath the rim of the black hat, and the two burst out laughing. The tiny car exited the alley, weaved through some traffic, and settled in between three larger vehicles. Lupin followed along as the cars pulled over to let two police cars scream past in the opposite direction. As he pulled back into traffic, an itch began to grow in the back of his throat. He swallowed in an effort to ease it, but instead, it grew until it came out in a chest-rattling cough.

This time, he saw a questioning eye beneath Jigen’s hat. “You okay man?” the gunman asked.

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Lupin replied, clearing his throat. “Just a bit of water from my swim earlier.”

The thief was still dripping wet from his high-dive escape from Zenigata. It hadn’t been part of the plan, but it had been beautiful: Lupin illuminated by two spotlights as he curved through the air, Zenigata watching slack-jawed as Lupin twisted into an expert dive, his body cutting through the water like a knife and vanishing into the brackish current.

In short, it had been spectacular. What wasn’t spectacular was how fucking cold the water had been. Even this far south, the water still held the chill from the spring melt-water.

“You should never have done that,” Jigen said. “If you had waited ten seconds I could have…”

“And if I had waited ten seconds Pops would have had me trussed up like a Christmas goose,” Lupin finished. “I’m fine, Jigen. Once we get Goemon and get out of town I’ll change into something dry and we can laugh about it some more.”

“Uh-huh.”

Lupin turned off of the main road onto a side street. They could still hear the sound of sirens in the distance, but they were far enough away now that they were basically home free. The little Fiat slowed to a stop and Lupin glanced down at his watch.

“Three… two… one…”

_Thump._

“Goemon! Glad you could join us!” Lupin called out as the car’s  cloth-top was pulled back. “You’re right on time!”

Goemon grunted in acknowledgment as he settled into the back seat. Lupin put the car back in gear and pulled back onto the street. He expertly navigated the city streets until they left the city limits and raced off into the night. It would take a few hours to reach their intended destination. Hopefully, the little knot in his chest that was growing into a bigger knot would stay quiet. Jigen was right: he shouldn’t have dove into the river. He had been keeping it under wraps, but Lupin had been feeling a bit under the weather as of late. Nothing a few over-the-counter pills couldn’t take care of, but nothing that a dive into semi-freezing water wouldn’t make  a little worse.

They stopped once so Lupin could change into some dry clothes but otherwise drove into the night. They soon left the main highway behind and headed up into the  literal  hills. The road soon grew narrow as it was pressed into the side of the hill: steep slope above them, steep drop below them. Lupin slowed down a little, but he had driven these roads enough times that there was no chance of him driving off the side.

The knot in his chest only acted up twice during the trip. The first time was loud enough to disturb Jigen from his snooze. The second wasn’t nearly as bad.

Finally, after what felt like half the night, Lupin spotted the turnoff. The road to the house was unpaved and served as a wake-up call for Jigen and Goemon. Ten more minutes and they arrived.

“We’re here!” Lupin sang.

It was one of his favorite hideaways: a small stone house built on a hillside overlooking a beautiful valley of below. At one point it too had been a  farm of some sort ,  albeit a tiny one,  however the fields were mostly overgrown and the old barn was now home to a fox family .  The house, on the other hand, was still in good shape and had been taken care of over the years. It was one of Lupin’s favorite hideouts to visit, though he made sure not to visit it too often least Pops find it.

The engine wasn’t even off before Jigen and Goemon were out of the car. Lupin followed suit and stretched out the kinks that had developed. Man, he was tired. More than he usually was after a job well done. The drive must have taken more than he thought it would. A cough worked its way up through his chest. It was a small one, thankfully.

Lupin unlocked the trunk and managed to grab a bag before a pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him away. “ Wha-?”

“You. Bed. Now,” Jigen ordered.  He started to push Lupin towards the house.

“C’mon Jigen, I’m fine!” Lupin whined.

“Bed! You’ve been driving half the night, and I know you haven’t slept in almost  a day ,” Jigen said. “Goemon and I can take care of the loot.”

Lupin opened his mouth to snap back, but instead snapped it shut. Goemon was hovering over Jigen’s shoulder with a look on his face that said if Lupin didn’t listen to his gunman, there would be  repercussions. Probably being dragged out to the waterfall two hills over. Lupin shivered at the thought; he’d had enough cold water to last him a while.

“Fine,” Lupin said. “This bag has all the good stuff anyway and I’m not going to share.”

“It’s got your germs on it. I don’t want it,” Jigen replied.

Lupin stuck out his tongue and then stopped over to unlock the front door. He fumbled about for a light switch;  only one of the bulbs came on. He’d have to change the other tomorrow.  Definitely tomorrow, when he wasn’t yawning and sore from running and he could say “see, Jigen, I told you I’m fine”. He took the steps one at a time and pushed the door to the first bedroom open.

He tossed the bag of loot onto a chair in the corner. Jacket, off. Shoes, off. Belt and tie, removed. Lupin yanked back the sheet that covered the bed and then pulled back the  comforter before sliding in under it. His entire body went limp and he was soon asleep.

* * *

“...pin…”

A small noise penetrated his cocoon of darkness. It was familiar but oh so far away. Too far away. He was tired.  He’d chase after it later.

“...Lu...n…”

There it was again. Now that he was aware of it, he felt himself floating up into consciousness. Only, why was it taking so long?  Why did it hurt? Why couldn’t he just stay in the warm and cozy darkness where it didn’t hurt.

“Lup… ‘u awake?”

He was now.

Lupin cracked open a gummy eye. It was still dark in his room except for a single line of sunlight coming from a crack in the blinds. He moaned quietly; his head was pounding. Actually, his  entire body was pounding.  It felt like Goemon was meditating on his chest.

“You cooking the eggs or what?”

Eggs… eggs… eggs? Oh yeah, eggs. It was tradition to have eggs and bacon the morning after a successful heist. Lupin cooked the eggs, Jigen cooked the bacon, and Goemon made himself a bowl of rice but had at least a bite of the other breakfast offerings. He had decided on doing sunny-side-up this time, but right now his brain felt like scrambled. And his stomach did a sickening flip at the thought of bacon.

“I’m going to cook ‘em if you don’t come out.”

Jigen couldn’t cook an egg if his life depended on it. But right now, Lupin wasn’t sure if he could either. He slowly sat up and swung his legs around off the side of the bed. God, it was cold in here,  why was it so damn cold?  They were up north but it shouldn’t be this cold, not in June.  Lupin wrapped the comforter around him and slowly stood up. He managed one step before a wave of vertigo slammed into him and he topple d over with a thud and a moan.

“Lupin?” The door crashed open. “Lupin!”

He felt Jigen’s hands try to pull the comforter away, but Lupin pulled it closer. He looked up and cracked the best smile he could, which wasn’t a very good one.  There was no hiding it now.

“I d-don’t think it’s a c-c-cold, Jigen,” Lupin croaked.

Jigen had been stunned into silence and for a few moments just sat there, jaw slightly slack as his eyes flicked about the rather pitiful state Lupin was in. Another  shadow appeared in the doorway, sword in hand.

“Put that away,” Jigen said, pulling Lupin into a sitting position. “And help me get him back into bed.”

There was a soft  _shnnk_ as Goemon returned Zantetsuken to its scabbard before helping Jigen lift Lupin and  maneuver him back into bed. Lupin shifted into a comfortable position and coughed. Hard. Someone thumped him on the back which may or may not have helped, he wasn’t sure. A hand brushed against his forehead.

“He’s burning,” Jigen said. “I’ll get a thermometer.”

“’m not burning,” Lupin mumbled. “I’m cold.”

“That is because you have a fever,” Goemon replied.

The samurai helped Lupin shift into a reclined position in time for Jigen to return and stick the thermometer into Lupin’s mouth. They waited until the small device beeped, and then Jigen swiped it  and read the results. “ 101.3, damn . It’s official: you’re sick.”

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.”

“Hey, at least we’re already taking a break,” Jigen said. “Because it’s bed rest for you until it breaks.”

Lupin glared at him.

“Jigen is right,” Goemon said. “Any extra activity will only drain your body’s resources. You need to focus on recovering. Do you have any other symptoms?”

“My body aches,” Lupin said. “And my lungs are gunked up. And I’m not sure if I could keep anything down right now.”

“Shit the bacon!” Jigen spun around and sprinted back downstairs.

“ I will go and get some extra pillows,” Goemon said. “I know you said you might not be able to keep anything down, but you should at least try to drink some water.”

Lupin nodded. He noticed something flash briefly across Goemon’s face, an emotion he’d never seen on Goemon before. The samurai stood up and left to collect the items he had mentioned, leaving Lupin to wonder if he really looked so terrible the Goemon was  _worried_ about him.

* * *

As the day progressed, Lupin’s condition deteriorated. He was constantly cold  until he wasn’t and then he was too hot . He constantly had to blow his nose and cough. He was constantly sore. He was constantly tired. Even though the compress on his forehead was lukewarm at best, it felt like an ice pack. He managed to swallow two  pills Jigen dug out of the medicine  cabinet (“The expiration date says they’re still good!”)  that helped clear his chest and sinuses a bit , and  take a few bites of plain rice. He wasn’t nauseous, but he wasn’t hungry either. Once the medicine kicked in he took a nap but woke up a few hours later in the middle of a coughing fit.

Jigen and Goemon took turns tending to him, even though he really just wanted to be left alone. He wasn’t very good company.  He hated being sick. Lupin the Third didn’t get sick. Ever. Maybe he should have postponed the job; or rather, maybe he shouldn’t have gone for a late-night swim in very cold water when he was already feeling under the weather. He had been managing it so well too! But pulling off a heist was stressful, and he hadn’t been taking care of himself in the lead up to it.

“Here.”

Lupin opened his eyes.  Goemon was standing by his bedside holding a small bowl filled with ice.  He and Jigen must have switched off on thief-sitting duty while Lupin was dozing because last time he checked, Jigen was sitting in the chair by the window reading a beaten up Clive Cussler novel.  Lupin extracted his arms from the blanket and took the bowl.

“They will help you cool down,” Goemon replied. “And help keep you hydrated.”

Lupin popped one of the bits of ice into his mouth, letting it melt on his tongue and swallowing the cold water. “Hmmmmmm.”

“How are you feeling?”

“About the same,” Lupin replied once he swallowed the chip. “A little warm. Look, Goemon, I…”

Goemon held up his hand. “You should have told us you were not feeling well. Or at least have told me. I could have helped sooner.”

“I know. ”  Lupin crunched on a new piece of ice. “I thought I could handle it, y’know?”

“I know,” Goemon said.

Lupin crunched on some more ice. It was the most he had done all day and it was slowly wiping him out. However, it was also the best thing he had done all day. He frowned a bit. He had planned on spending today down at the pond. The biggest fish were barely more than the width of his hand, but it was still fun to catch them.  Oh well. Best laid plans and all that.

“Any word from Pops?” he asked.

“Zenigata was still promising that you would not escape on the radio,” Goemon replied. 

“Of course he is.”

The statement triggered another coughing fit. By the time it finished, Lupin wanted to curl up and sleep again. Goemon took the empty ice bowl, made sure the sick thief was comfortable and left him to his nap.

* * *

Supper was, much to Lupin’s delight, Jigen’s super-secret chicken noodle soup.  While Goemon watched Lupin, he had made a supply run to a nearby town (in disguise,  of course ) to get the  ingredients. They all sat in Lupin’s room, slurping noodles  and chatting. Lupin had suggested playing cards, but there was no way to wash each card after he had handled it.

After dinner, Lupin settled in for the night and slept through most of it. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much to improve his health: he was even more sore and achy than the day before, his fever was about the same, and he didn’t have much energy save for making trips to the bathroom.  More ice chips, more tea, more soup, more tissues, more rereading the same books. More feeling like a miserable idiot.

At one point he dragged himself out of bed and shambled over to the bathroom to relieve himself. Once he was empty he went to was his hands and got the first real good look at himself in the last day.

He didn’t look so hot despite how he felt.

His hair was a mess, he had some serious five o’clock shadow, and his skin was pale save for the cherry red blush on his cheeks. His eyes also looked feverish. Lupin splashed some water on his face – not that it helped his appearance but it helped him feel better – and then started back to his room. He was halfway there when he heard Jigen and Goemon’s quiet voices coming up from the kitchen.

“Are you sure no one recognized you?” Goemon asked.

“Positive, I didn’t look like me,” Jigen replied. “Zenigata’s probably just made a lucky guess as to where we headed after the job. As long as we stay here and wait for him to move on, we’ll be fine.”

Goemon probably nodded. “Still, if he gets too close… Lupin really should not be moved right now.”

“If Pops gets too close we won’t have much of a choice,” Jigen said. “Surely he can make one car ride.”

“His fever has not broken yet. If it does not break tomorrow… do you know any doctors in the area?”

“Not around here. Back down south, yeah, but we’d have to pay him an arm and a leg to get him to make a house call. Not to mention I’d have to drive past Zenigata in the process.  If we need to, I can take the car and try to get Pops to chase me  for a bit, that might throw him off . ”

“ That might work...”

Lupin felt like a child listening to his parents fight. Only instead of his parents, it was his partners, and instead of fighting, they were discussing what to do if he didn’t get better. Lupin quietly opened the door to his room and returned to his bed. They were right, of course. Their best chance was to stay put. The old farmhouse was hard to find, few people even knew it was there and three of them were staying in it. Plus just the thought of driving on the winding hillside roads was enough to make Lupin’s stomach do flips, he wasn’t sure how it would fair actually traveling.

Lupin pulled the sheet over him, and then the blanket. He was feeling a bit chilled. Another nap would do him good. Then some more soup. Yeah, that sounded good.  Sleep sounded so good. He was safe, his partners were safe, he could sleep. Safe as houses...

* * *

Jigen sat on the front step and blew smoke out the door. The smell of cigarette smoke made Lupin cranky because he couldn’t have one, and Jigen didn’t want to wake the thief up. He felt a bit bad for him, to be honest. Lupin very rarely ever showed any kind of weakness, and now his body was betraying him. He was being a relatively good sport about it, he’d only snapped at them once, but Jigen knew he was hating every second of it.

The cigarette burned down to the filter and Jigen snuffed it out. He was hoping he wouldn’t come down with whatever Lupin had. The last time he had been sick it was the morning after a bottle of really bad gin,  if that even counted. Probably not.

“Jigen!”

Jigen turned around. Goemon was at the top of the stairs. “What is it?”

“I need your help,” Goemon replied.

Shit.

Jigen jammed the new cigarette and his lighter back into his pocket before taking the stairs two at a time. He found Goemon by Lupin’s bed.  The thief’s skin was damp with sweat and he was tossing weakly about. Goemon tried to keep a cool compress on Lupin’s head but was having a bit of a hard time.

“His fever spiked,” Goemon said.

Jigen grabbed the bottle of Tylenol and shook out two pills. “Lupin? Lupin I need you to swallow these,” he said, picking up the glass of water on the bedside table. “Can you do that for me?”

Lupin moaned a bit but otherwise didn’t respond. Jigen glanced down at the thermometer.  103 shit that number needed to come down before Lupin’s body cooked his brain.

“C’mon, Lupin, I know you can do it,” Jigen said. He noticed a bowl of soup from dinner. It was room temperature but still smelled good. He held it to Lupin’s mouth. “Open up…”

Amazingly, Lupin did. He swallowed down the offered soup, and then the next few spoonfuls along with the medicine. It seemed to revive him a bit, or at least bring him back to reality somewhat.

“That should kick in soon,” Jigen said.

“I hope so,” Goemon replied. “Can you get some more cloths and water?”

“Yeah.”

When Jigen returned with the requested items, the situation had changed slightly. Lupin’s eyes were wide open, and he was struggling to get out of bed while Goemon held him down.

“ _Il arrive!_ ” Lupin gasped. “ _Il arrive!_ ”

G oemon looked to Jigen for a translation.  He could speak French but wasn’t very good at it.

“ He’s coming?” Jigen said. 

“Who’s coming?” Goemon asked.

“ _Il arrive_ ,” Lupin continued to insist.

“ _Lupin, no one is coming,_ ” Jigen said gently. “ _You’re safe,_ _I promise._ ”

“ _But he’s coming! Zenigata! To take me… away..._ ”

Goemon frowned. “Zenigata?”

“Jeez, he must have heard us talking earlier,” Jigen said. “I told you he was moving around up here. Lupin? Lupin?  _You’re safe, I promise. Zenigata isn’t here, nobody is going to take you away. I promise._ ”

Lupin continued to struggle, caught up in his fever dream. Mumbling and muttering, trying to escape, telling them to run, that they were coming, they were coming for him.

“This isn’t working,” Goemon said.

A  light-bulb went off in Jigen’s head. “I got an idea, give me a hand with him. _We’re taking you somewhere safe, Lupin, it’s going to be okay,_ ” he added in French as he lifted the feverish thief out of bed.

“ _...you promise?_ ”

“ Je promets .”

* * *

When Lupin woke up, he was in a folded position. He tried to stretch out, but his legs barely extended a few centimeters before they met resistance. Curious, he opened his eyes.

Ah, that would explain it. He wasn’t in his bed anymore. He was in the back seat of the Fiat.

...huh?

It was dark, but there was enough light from the moon and stars and the windows of the farmhouse for Lupin to see they were parked in the driveway. He could also see Jigen and Goemon in the front seat; Jigen’s head was on Goemon’s shoulder and even though Goemon was in his usual meditation/resting position, he was tilted slightly towards the gunman as if he had dozed off while contemplating the will of the universe or something.

“Hey Jigen?” Lupin said.

There was a small flurry of activity in response to Lupin breaking the silence. Goemon instantly sat up ramrod straight, and Jigen flailed a bit and hit his knee on the  steering wheel in the process of turning around.

“Lupin!” he said. “ _You’re awake!_ ”

“ _O-oui?_ ” Lupin replied. “ _Why are you speaking French?_ ”

“ _You went mono-lingual on us for a bit there,_ ” Jigen replied before switching to a language they all spoke fluently. “Among other things. How you feeling?”

“Okay?  Why are we in the car?”

“It was the only way to calm you down. You were pretty out of it. Your fever spiked and you were convinced Zenigata was around the corner ready to drag you away in handcuffs.”

“I was?” Lupin looked at Goemon for confirmation.

Goemon nodded. “You were.”

“...well shit.”

“No kidding.” Jigen reached across the dashboard and showed Lupin the thermometer. “Here, just to see how you’re doing.”

Lupin opened his mouth and popped the thermometer in. They waited a minute for it to beep and then handed it back to Jigen who read the result by the tiny  dash-light.

“100. 1 Still warm, but much better,” Jigen said. “Wanna head inside now?”

“You guys can,” Lupin replied with a yawn as he snuggled into his nest of blankets. “But I’m kind of comfy back here.”

“I will stay,” Goemon said. “To make sure Lupin does make it through the night.”

“ You two are idiots,” Jigen sighed. He leaned back in the seat and covered his eyes with his hat. “We have a perfectly good house, and you want to sleep in the car. Fine by me.  You’re both idiots.”

An owl hooted somewhere outside.


End file.
